Box Score KASSIDY BLEVINS INTERVIEW

BOX SCORE (PDF)

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Samford women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to earn a 58-43 Southern Conference road win at Georgia Southern Saturday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
"I thought our team did a good job of thinking defensively and defending on the road," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "The improvement we've made since the last time we played Georgia Southern is evident, with us coming in here and holding them to 43 points. I thought our team really set the tone defensively, and even when we turned the ball over some in the second half and didn't have a flow offensively, we were still guarding."
 
Two Samford freshmen had career-high performances in the win. Kassidy Blevins scored a career-high 21 points, and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Clara Young finished with a career-high 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Senior center Christy Robinson had 11 points and five rebounds.
 
"Some days the shots go in, and some days they don't, and today they were going in for me," Blevins said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball and setting up different things."
 
For Georgia Southern, MiMi DuBose led the way with 14 points. Anna Claire Knight had 10 points and six rebounds for the Eagles.
 
In the first half, Georgia Southern got off to a fast start, taking a 7-2 lead with 13:06 to go after a basket by Knight. Samford answered with a 15-2 run to take a 17-9 lead with 7:01 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Blevins.
 
Georgia Southern fought back to cut the lead to four points at 23-19 with 3:07 to go in the opening half after a free throw by Knight. Samford then closed the half with an 11-0 run to take a 34-19 lead into halftime.
 
The teams traded baskets early in the second half until Georgia Southern cut the Samford lead to 11 points at 40-29 with 12:13 left following a jumper by Danielle Spencer. Samford scored the next five points to push its lead out to 16 points at 45-29 with 10:13 left after a layup by Hannah Nichols.
 
Samford pushed its lead out to a game-high 19 points at 51-32 with 4:00 to go after a three-pointer by Young. GSU fought back to cut the lead to 13 points at 51-38 with 2:33 left after a pair of free throws by Sierra Kirkland. Georgia Southern could get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Bulldogs came away with the 58-43 win.
 
Samford out-rebounded Georgia Southern, 46-35 in the game. The 46 rebounds are a season-high for the Bulldogs. Samford shot 40 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three-point range. The Samford defense held Georgia Southern to just 25.4 percent overall and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 6-15 overall and 4-6 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs have now won three of their last four games. Georgia Southern drops to 7-14 overall and 5-5 in SoCon games.
 
Samford will return to action on Monday, Feb. 3, when the Bulldogs play at Davidson. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Davidson, N.C.